Weight and balance is important for any airplane, but it's especially critical in a large supersonic aircraft for reasons that might surprise you. Veteran airman Phil Rowe talks about some W&B lessons learned from his days flying in the B-58 "Hustler," America's first supersonic bomber. More

Although we often hear about the stall as a major cause of accidents, it is often the fear of stalling that causes pilots to make too-fast approaches that result in overshoots, overruns, and loss of control landing accidents. AVweb's Safety Editor offers words of wisdom about overcoming your fears and gaining confidence in that all-important low-speed corner of the performance envelope. More

If you're based in Florida, summertime means either flying around thunderstorms or not flying at all. But even the most experienced hand dodging TRW will occasionally get more than was bargained for, as AVweb publisher Carl Marbach discovered when his Aerostar took a damaging lightning strike while flying in an area that his radar and Stormscope said were okay. Here's the story and the photos of what happened to Carl's airplane (he won't be flying it for awhile). More

Flying a transcontinental trip by light plane can be an intimidating experience for pilots who have never done it before. But with some advance planning and a little common sense, it is usually a delightful (as well as memorable) experience. Here's how a 12,000-hour ATP tackled a long X-C from Michigan to Florida and back in a Piper Arrow. More

The thoroughly delightful story of how Bob Barton — an aeronautical engineer but non-pilot — built and learned to fly his Sonerai IIL kitplane. It took Bob more than eight years to finish the task ("I just approached it like a mouse eating an elephant, and kept nibbling away"), but the end result was an unrepentant love affair between man and machine. More

Does an airplane wing belong in the basement or the attic? Which configuration makes a better trainer? Which does better as a cross-country traveling machine? How about formation flying? Short-field work? Which is easier to pre-flight? A veteran test pilot and expert in aircraft flying qualities explores the tradeoffs. More

Before you launch off into the clag, take a moment to review your decision-making process. Did you make your go/no-go decision for the right reasons? How well has your training and experience taught you that crucial skill: how not to go. A little introspection might just enhance your life expectancy. More